The WWW Wednesday meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.
To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:
- What are you currently reading?
- What did you recently finish reading?
- What do you think you’ll read next?
Currently Reading
Both Spinning Silver and The Count of Monte Cristo are kind of on hold for the moment while I try to get out from under the mountain of ARCs I currently seem to be buried in. 
It’s safe to say my resolution not to request too many is not going well but I can’t complain as there are a lot I’ve been really looking forward to.
The first of which is current read Smoke in the Sun by Renée Ahdieh. This is the sequel to Flame in the Mist and one I’ve been eagerly anticipating. I only started it on Monday night and I have to admit I had kind of forgotten some of the events (and character names) from the previous book but I do love Ahdieh’s writing and it’s very easy to immerse yourself in the world.
On audio I’ve started listening to Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater which as well as being an oldie (first published in 2009) is also my first book by Stiefvater, shocking I know. I’ve actually had this book on my kindle for ages but there was always something else I ended up reading first. When I spied it on Overdrive though it seemed like the perfect opportunity and so far I am very much enjoying it. It is a bit of a throwback to the Twilight style YA paranormal romance but I loved Twilight and the narration is pretty good. I only started it on Monday and am already about 3 hours in.
Recently Finished
I can finally give myself a pat on the back this week for finishing one of those books that’s been sitting on my reading next list for the past couple of weeks, Us Against You by Fredrik Backman. I’d been looking forward to this given my love for its predecessor Beartown but was also a little nervous it wouldn’t be as good. Thankfully Backman didn’t let me down and it felt like returning to a place and characters I knew very well. The character development is wonderful and there are some brilliant new characters (the new hockey coach was my favourite) who I quickly came to care about. I think if you enjoyed Beartown you’ll enjoy this.
Unfortunately progress with my reading plan then went completely off course when I discovered I could join Edinburgh libraries (because clearly I don’t have enough books and need to be a member of three county libraries) and got overly excited at their ebook collection. So many new releases I’ve been looking forward to (many holds have been put on) but also some older books that I’ve wanted to read forever but couldn’t justify buying. One of which was Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat. As soon as I saw it I had to read it and 24 hours later I’d finished both it and sequel Prince’s Gambit. Thankfully there’s a wait list for book 3 or I’m sure I would have finished it too.
Reading Next
I’m getting a little bit fantasy’d out so I think my next read will probably be either a romance or a thriller from the selection below.
Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.
Happy Reading ❤
So yeah I may have wandered off my reading plan over the weekend but I couldn’t resist picking up Circe by Madeline Miller and needless to say once I picked it up there was no way I was putting it down until I finished it. It is absolutely brilliant. It will definitely be making my list of favorite reads in 2018. I’ve always been fascinated by Greek mythology but had forgotten a lot of it. In Circe, the author really brings a lot of these stories to life and it actually feels like you’re living them. The character development is incredible and I loved how she made these Greek gods and heroes (Odysseus, Daedalus) so incredibly real and flawed. I am going to have to get my hands on a copy of The Song of Achilles as soon as possible.
I did enjoy this story but part of me wishes that I’d just bought it as an ebook rather than listening to it on audio. I can imagine it’s much better to just sit and immerse yourself in the story rather than dipping in and out every couple of days. It may just have been that I’ve been reading the original stories fairly recently but this reminded me a lot of Sherlock Holmes. One character in particular, Thomas Cresswell, seems to pretty much be Sherlock and a lot of his methods and character are absolutely identical. I did guess who Jack the Ripper was very early on (it was kinda obvious) but it was still a good read and I will no doubt read the next books in the series.
The third and final book finished this week was The Last Family in England which I’d received from NetGalley. I’m pretty sure this has been out for a while but it seems to be getting re released (probably due to the success of How to Stop Time). This was a very emotional read for me. I don’t think I would have requested this if I’d known just how upsetting this story would be. I love animals and tend to get more emotionally invested in them than I do in people so I generally avoid books about animals (even if I know they get a happy ending). It is however wonderfully written and contains so many keen insights and observations on the modern family and relationships. This was my first book by Haig and while I can’t say I “enjoyed” it (it was too sad for that). It has shown me how good his writing is.
After Ash Princess I couldn’t face another YA fantasy and having received a copy of Vox from NetGalley I couldn’t resist reading a few pages. Needless to say I ended up finishing the whole thing the same day. It’s an absolutely fascinating premise in that in this society women are only permitted to speak 100 words a day. Their role is to stay at home, cook, clean, garden and raise the children while their menfolk make the decisions, go out to work. It’s a little similar to Handmaid’s Tale but without the forced baby factory element. I very much enjoyed it. It’s not out till August so unfortunately too early for a review but I would recommend.
It’s about twins Sam and Ilsa who are throwing a final dinner party in their grandmother’s apartment before Gran sells up and moves to Paris and they head off to college/adulting. They can each invite three guests and it’s safe to say they’re a mixed bunch. There are ex’s, potential love interests and virtual strangers. I very much enjoyed this book particularly for the diversity in the characters and the interactions between them. The whole thing takes place over the course of an evening and within an apartment so it’s impressive that it manages to hold your attention. There were a couple of niggles and it’s not quite as good as Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares in my opinion but still worth a read.
I have to confess I haven’t made much progress with 
A Bookish Life 